By Savini Gauri
You’ll love this Gluten-Free Water Chestnut and Almond loaf – it’s incredibly soft, moist, and crumbly with an intense richness from the water chestnuts and warmth from the almond flour. This is my go-to evening tea cake during this time of year since it's water chestnut season here. It’s also super easy to make! It's a cakewalk (all the pun intended).
I’m super excited to share this recipe with you – it’s a huge hit in my house and it vanishes in a matter of minutes.
This simple water chestnut and almond cake is not fancy or elaborate. It is rather simple and rustic. Eating this cake gives you a sense of warmth and nostalgia. Just like it has come out of a grandma's old cookbook.
It tastes super-rich even though it has NO butter in it. All that richness comes from the water chestnut puree and almond flour. It is essentially a hug in the form of a cake. So soft! So crumbly! It just melts in your mouth. Yet it is not at all dense. But it is soft and fluffy.
If you like your tea cakes to be fudgy then you can always under-bake it a little and have the perfect fudgy center. It's all about your personal preference.
This easy water chestnut and almond cake is not even a recipe. It's more like mixing ingredients together. Though, I do recommend that you use a stand or hand mixer for whipping the egg whites. Other than that all the ingredients can be mixed by hand. In addition to being a simple recipe, this cake also uses ingredients that are easily available in most households.
And, finally, it's gluten-free and dairy-free. Not that you can tell - since it's deliciously moist and fluffy.
Note: the detailed recipe, including the ingredient quantities and suggested brands, can be found at the bottom of the page – just scroll down or click the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of this post.
What ingredients do we need to make this Water Chestnut and Almond Loaf?
Caster sugar or powdered sugar
Salt
Baking powder
Eggs
Vegetable or sunflower oil
Water Chestnuts (fresh or canned, whatever is available to you)
Dairy-free milk (almond, oats, or any other option you have available)
How do you make this gluten-free loaf?
Making this gluten-free water chestnut and almond cake could not be any easier:
Separate the egg yolks and whites. Keep aside.
Peel the water chestnuts and blitz them in a grinder. It is perfectly alright if the paste is slightly grainy. **If you are using canned water chestnuts then DO NOT use the liquid it is immersed in. **
In a large bowl, whisk together oil and sugar. Add to it the dairy-free milk and egg yolks. Mix it until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Add to it the water chestnut puree and mix until it is evenly distributed.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until fluffy. Keep aside.
Add almond flour, salt, and baking powder to the chestnut batter. Mix until there are no dry flour spots visible. DO NOT overmix.
Gently fold the whisked egg whites into the chestnut batter.
Bake it in the oven for 20 minutes at 200ºC on the middle rack. Then lower the temperature to 175ºC and bake for another 12-15 minutes. However, every oven is different (sometimes incorrectly calibrated), I would recommend you check the doneness of your cake with the "prick test".
But if you're like me and like the cake to be a little gooey in the center, then simply reduce the baking time by 8-10 minutes.
Cool in the baking tin for 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
This water chestnut and almond loaf should be well-risen and an inserted toothpick should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. It should have a nice dark brown color on its surface.
TIP: If it starts browning too quickly, just cover the cake with aluminum foil (shiny side up) and continue baking until it's done.
I hope you like this recipe as much as I do.
Happy Baking!
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Gluten-Free Water Chestnut and Almond Loaf
You’ll love this Gluten-Free Water Chestnut and Almond loaf – it’s incredibly soft, moist, and crumbly with an intense richness from the water chestnuts and warmth from the almond flour. This is my go-to evening tea cake during this time of year since it's water chestnut season here. It’s also super easy to make! It's a cakewalk (all the pun intended).
Course Dessert, Cake
Cuisine Dairy Free, Gluten Free
Prep Time 15 minutes
Bake/Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes - 1 hour
Servings 8-inch cake
Ingredients
3/4 cup Caster sugar or powdered sugar
1 pinch Salt
1 and 1/2 cups (130 grams) Almond Flour
1.5 tsp Baking powder
3 Eggs (separated)
1/4 cup Vegetable or sunflower oil
110 grams (1/3 cup) Water Chestnuts (fresh or canned, whatever is available to you)
1/4 cup Dairy-free milk (almond, oats, or any other option you have available)
Instructions
Separate the egg yolks and whites. Keep aside.
Peel the water chestnuts and blitz them in a grinder. It is perfectly alright if the paste is slightly grainy. **If you are using canned water chestnuts then DO NOT use the liquid it is immersed in. **
In a large bowl, whisk together oil and sugar. Add to it the dairy-free milk and egg yolks. Mix it until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Add to it the water chestnut puree and mix until it is evenly distributed.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until fluffy. Keep aside.
Add almond flour, salt, and baking powder to the chestnut batter. Mix until there are no dry flour spots visible. DO NOT overmix.
Gently fold the whisked egg whites into the chestnut batter.
Bake it in the oven for 20 minutes at 200ºC on the middle rack. Then lower the temperature to 175ºC and bake for another 12-15 minutes. However, every oven is different (sometimes incorrectly calibrated), I would recommend you check the doneness of your cake with the "prick test".
But if you're like me and like the cake to be a little gooey in the center, then simply reduce the baking time by 8-10 minutes.
Cool in the baking tin for 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Storage Instructions: It keeps well in an air-tight container in a cool dry place for about 2-3 days. (if it ever lasts that long).
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